Loading, unloading, and transporting apparatus.



-No. 851,155. PATBNTE1) APR. 23,1907.

I E. s, BOYD. A LOADING,'UNLOADING, AND TRANSPORTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT l.

EDWIN S. BOYD, OF NORRIS CITY, ILLINOIS.

LOADING, UNLOADING, AND TRANSPORTING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. latented April 23, 1907.

Application filed July 14,1905- Serial No. 269,683.

To (LZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN S. BOYD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Norris City, in the county of White and. State of Illinois,'have invented. new and useful Improvements in Loading, Unloading, and Transporting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to loading, unloading and transporting apparatus, the object being to provide simple and effective means for hoisting ore or other material from a mine or other source of supply, transporting the same to the surface or an elevated point and thence to a delivery or objective point, loading the surface conveyor from the hoisting carrier or conveyor, and dumping the load from the surface conveyor, the construction of the apparatus being such as to facilitate and reduce the amount of labor attending these operations.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in. which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus, showing the surface conveyor at the Y objective or dumping point; Figure 1 is a broken. vertical section through the mine shaft showing the guide sheave for the lower end of the hoisting conveyor. Figure 2 is a top plan view of the operating mechanism;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the surface,

conveyor; Figure 4 is a cross section of the same, showing in dotted lines the bottom doors swung open and about to enter the closing device; and Figure 5 is a side elevation of the surface conyeyor arranged in re ceiving position, the door closing device appearing in section.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a mine shaft adapted to be closed or covered by suit able hinged or pivoted doors 2. Extending from the surface above the shaft is a suitably constructed supporting frame 3, leading from one side of which are track rails 4 extending on a down grade to a stop or bumper 5 lo cated at the objective point or point where the material hoisted from the mine is to be delivered.

Journaled in suitable bearings at the top of the frame 3 is a transverse shaft 6 carrying a supporting sheave or pulley 7 upon which is hung an endless conveyor rope, chain or cable 8 which extends downward through the shaft into the mine, where it passes around a guide sheave or pulley 7. This endless conveyor carries a bucket or receptacle 10 having the usual suspending bail 11 adapted to engage a suitable suspending member on the forward or working stretch of the conveyor. Of course, a plurality of such buckets or receptacles may be employed and suspended at suitable intervals on the working stretch of the conveyor. The ore or other material to be hoisted from the mine to the surface is filled into the bucket and motion imparted to the conveyor through the medium of the drive gearing, hereinafter described, to elevate the bucket to the surface. On the shaft 6 is also a drive pulley 12 which is connected by a belt 13 with a main drive pulley 14 loosely mounted on a drive shaft 15 suitably supported. and ournaled in the lower portion of the frame 3, said shaft being driven manually through the medium of a crank handle 16 or through any desired power mechanism. Suitable pawl and ratchet mechanism 15 may be provided to lock the shaft 15 from retrograde rotation when. the bucket is hoisted.

The driving pulley 14 is connected with a circumferentially grooved. sleeve 17 carrying a clutch member 18 to engage a coacting clutch member 19 on a winding drum 20 fixed to the shaft, whereby the pulley 14 may be thrown into and out of action to operate or arrest the operation of the hoisting conveyor 8.

A controlling lever 21, pivotally mounted upon the frame, carries a' shifting arm 22 bifurcated or yoked to engage the grooved periphery of the sleeve 17 by which the pulley and clutch member 18 may be shifted longitudinally on the shaft 1.5 to throw the clutch members into and out of engagement.

A surface conveyor, comprising a car 25, is provided with wheels to run upon the rails 4 and is adapted to receive the material hoisted. by the conveyor 8 and convey the same from the mouth of the shaft 1 to a surface delivery point at which is arranged the stop or bumper 5. Said conveyor 25 is adapted to travel by gravity from the shaft 1 to the obj ective point 5 down the inclined rails 4 and to be returned from the objective point to the shaft through the medium of operating mechanism consisting of a chain or cable 26 attached at one end thereto and at its oppositeend to the winding drum 20.

The conveyor 25 is of the automatic dumping type and comprises a body formed of substantially truncate triangular end walls 1 27, a central longitudinal bottom deflector 28 provided with outwardly sloping walls, and inclined side walls or doors 29 hinged at their upper ends to swing outwardly and dump the load on opposite sides of the body The doors 29 are provided at their lower ends with locking arms or members 30 adapted to be engaged to hold said doors in closed position by the hooked terminals 31 of transverse locking bars 32 carried by a sliding locking beam or bar 33 arranged to move in guides 34 secured to the base of the deflector 28. The beam 33 is of greater length than the car body and provided with normally projecting ends 36 and 37, the former adapted to be engaged by the stop or abutment 5 to slide the beam in one direction to release the locking members 30 from the hooks 31 and permit the doors 29 to swing outwardly to dump the load. The end 37 of the bar is adapted to similarly engage the body or abutment portion 38 of a door closing device disposed. adjacent the shaft 1, to slide the beam 33 in the reverse direction and throw the locking devices 30 and 31 into engagement to hold the doors closed. The abutment 38 is at somewhat less length than the width of the end portions 27 of the car 25 and is provided with diverging wings 39 adapted when the car 25 nears the abutment 38 to engage and gradually close the doors 29 and to bring the locking members 30 into position to be engaged by the locking members 31 when the beam 33 is actuated by contact with the abutment 38.

In order to reduce the labor and simplify the operation of dumping the material from the buckets 10 to the surface conveyor 25, a swinging crane 40 is suitably ournaled upon the frame 3 and comprises a post provided with cross arms 41 carrying hooks or engaging devices 42 at their outer ends to engage the bails 11 of the buckets and remove said buckets from the conveyor 8. The crane post is provided with operating handles 43 and is adapted to be swung inwardly to engage one of the hooks 42 with the bail of a bucket and to be swung outwardly to bring the bucket above the surface conveyor 25 when the latter is in loading position at the upper end of the trackway 4. In practice, the buckets employed will be of the dumping type, so that by simply releasing a catch or lever the load therein will be discharged therefrom into the surface conveyor 25.

After the conveyor 25 has been loaded, the shaft 15, which is locked against movement while said conveyor is being loaded by the pawl and ratchet mechanism 15, is released and allowed to run free, and the lever 21 is simultaneously operated to unclutch the pulley 14, thus permitting the conveyor 25 to run by gravity to the delivery point 5 and the conveyor 8 to descend into the shaft under the weight of the unloaded bucket or buckets thereon without producing resistance to the travel of the conveyor 25. When the load has been dumped from the latter, the pulley 14 is again clutched to the shaft 15 and the latter operated to transfer motion to the conveyor 8 and cable 26 to hoist a loaded bucket to the surface and to return the surface conveyor to the loading point.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and mode of operation of the invention will, it is thought, be fully understood, and it will be seen that it provides a loading, unloading and transporting apparatus which is simple and efficient and adapted to be employed with but little labor or expense for hoisting and transporting material from a source of supply to a point of delivery.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In a dumping car, movable sides, means for locking the sides, means fixed to the road-bed for unlocking the sides, and means fixed at each side of the road-bed for returning the sides.

2. In a dumping car, movable sides, means for locking the sides, means fixed to the road-bed for unlocking the sides, means fixed at each side of the road-bed for returning the sides, and means for returning the side locking means to position.

3. In an apparatus for hoisting material from a mine and conveying the same to a delivery point, the combination of a hoisting conveyor provided'with a bucket, a surface conveyor for transporting the material from the mine shaft to a delivery point, means for operating said conveyors, and a crane adj acent the mouth of the shaft for removin the bucket from the hoisting conveyor and swinging it to position to discharge into the surface conveyor.

4. In an apparatus for hoisting material from a mine and conveying the same to a delivery point, the combination of a hoisting conveyor provided with a bucket and operating in the mine shaft, said conveyor adapted to be operated to transport the bucket to the surface and to return under the weight of the bucket to loading position, an inclined track'way leading from the mouth of the mine to the delivery point, a surface conveyor adapted to be drawn to a point adjacent the mine shaft and to travel by gravity therefrom down said trackway to the delivery point, said conveyor being provided with dumpin doors and latch mechanism for locking an releasing the same, a driving shaft, means for operating the two said conveyors from said shaft to bring a bucket to the surface and move the surface conveyor to receiving position, means for operating said latch mechanism to dump the load carried by the surface conveyor and close the doors thereof, and means for removing the bucket from the hoisting conveyor and swinging the same to position to discharge into the surface conveyor.

5. In an apparatus for hoisting materials and conveying the same to a delivery point, the combination of a hoisting conveyor provided with a receptacle, a self-dumping conveyor for transporting the material from the point of delivery of the hoisting conveyor to a dumping or final delivery point, means for operating said conveyors, a crane adjacent the delivery point of the hoisting conveyor and receiving point of the surface conveyor for removing the receptacle from the former and swinging it to position to discharge into the latter, and means located at the receiv ing and delivery points of the surface conveyor for dumping the load and resetting the conveyor for the reception of a new load.

6. In an apparatus for hoisting materials and conveying the same to a delivery point, the combination of a hoisting conveyor carrying a receptacle, said conveyor adapted to be operated to transport the receptacle and its load to the surface and toreturn under the weight of the receptacle to loading position, an inclined trackway leading from the delivery point of the hoisting conveyor to a final delivery point, a surface conveyor adapted to be drawn to a point adjacent to the delivery point of the hoisting conveyor and to travel by gravity therefrom down said trackway to the final delivery point, said conveyor being provided with dumping doors and latch mechanism for locking and releasing the same, means for operating said conveyors to bring the receptacleito its delivery point and move the surface conveyor to receiving position, and means located respectively at the dumping and receiving points of the surface conveyor to operate said latch mechanism to release the dumping doors and to automatically return the doors to closed position and latch the same.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN S. BOYD. Witnesses:

WILLIAM F. STOKEs, I-I. CLAY GOTT. 

